Osseointegration, or growth of bone into an implant, is desirable in many medical implants, and is typically achieved by the use of pores and voids machined into an implant surface. Sufficient stiffness moduli and compressive strength are also desirable in the many medical devices, and are typically achieved by the use of solid-body or node- and/or strut-based structures. However, the previous approaches to providing osseointegration and mechanical performance in an implant may require the compromise of reduced osseointegration to achieve improved mechanical performance, or vice versa.
For example, in previous medical implants, to achieve sufficient compressive strength, the processes include forming the medical implants from substantially solid, non-porous structures, thereby reducing osseointegration capabilities thereof. As another example, in previous medical implants, to achieve sufficient osseointegration, the processes include forming many pores or voids in the structures of the medical implants, thereby increasing a portion of stress concentrations therein and decreasing mechanical performance.
In addition, previous medical implants typically demonstrate isotropic mechanical performances that are unsuitable, for example, in instances where an implant requires a particular stiffness in a first direction and a reduced stiffness in a second direction. Finally, previous processes for producing medical implants via powder bed manufacturing techniques utilize un-refined lasing parameters that cause defect formation throughout the medical implants. The defects, such as void and lack-of fusion defects, can reduce mechanical performance by serving as nucleation sites for cracks and other deforming features leading towards mechanical failure.
As such, there is a long-felt, but unsolved need for a system and/or process of creating less defective medical devices of suitable mechanical performance and osseointegration capacity.